Licensing 101 for Mompreneurs

by Daniel Lorick, guest blogger

It's the newest buzz word among mom circles and its gaining momentum in every small business arena in the country: Mompreneurs. The mom who has an idea and makes the world a better place through her innovations. But the question remains, how do these moms navigate their way through product development? Here's a look at how its done:

We patented the Snowing
Snowman who makes it 
snow wherever he is!

1. You have an idea, a kernel that you know can grow into something great.

2. Take that kernel and start developing it, make prototypes or working models

3. GET PROTECTION: One of the worst pitfalls inventors face is trying to skip this step, because getting your intellectual property (IP) protected in the form of a Trademark, Copyright or Patent is your defense against counterfeits and companies taking your ideas.

4. Now that you have your proof of concept and you have your IP protected you have a decision to make. Are you going to manufacture and sell your idea yourself or are you going to license it.

Licensing: This involves doing a market study, and locating the key players in that industry. You then approach them with your idea to enter into a licensing agreement with them. Your compensation is in the form of a royalty or licensing fee. If you want to let someone else take the brunt of the risk, and not have to worry about running an operation, licensing is the best path to take. You make less money, but you don't have the execution risk of producing, distributing, and selling your idea.

One of our licensed products

Manufacturing and Sales: This is starting your own complete operation. You must make sure to include sourcing, manufacturing, distribution, and marketing functions to ensure success. In this case your profits are your compensation. If you have the infrastructure to run a complete business operation and you have distribution channels in place you can make more money with doing it all yourself. However, you also take on all the risk doing it all yourself.

License My Product exists to help you walk through these steps and figure out what option is best for you. We specialize in trademarks, patenting and licensing. Because of our extensive experience in these areas, we are especially equipped to help the Mompreneur take her invention to the next level! If you have questions, feel free to give me a call at 256-229-5551 or email me.